NeoNara || TXT || taebin || yeonkai

2015, DAY ONE
Friday, August 14, 2015 9:39 AM

"Attention, passengers. The Empire Service will be departing on Track 8 at 9:50 AM. Passengers should proceed to Track 8 at this time. The Empire Service will be departing on Track 8 at 9:50 AM."

"That's us, right?" Taehyun asks, scanning the huge departure board and mostly coming up dizzy.

Soobin nods. "It's the same train, same time I've been taking the past two years. And now you get to come with me." He grins and skips toward the track, taking Taehyun's hand in his. "We're going back to NeoNara!"

They run through the underground terminal, past modern pillars and rows of seating, taking an escalator down to a lower floor. Soobin leads Taehyun, not letting go of his hand, as they pull Taehyun's incredibly heavy suitcase behind them and onto the train. The suitcase holds all of Taehyun's equipment: his new decks and his laptop. The idea is that he will borrow Waeng's sound equipment for his set on Saturday afternoon, so he doesn't have to try and haul speakers or cables from either New York or his dad's place.

Finally a Saturday timeslot. Finally a new stage! Taehyun hasn't slept in weeks, perfecting his set list for the All Access Stage. Soobin has come home from his new visa-sponsored job at Yeonjun's office nearly every night with takeout for his boyfriend. The more he doesn't sleep, the more Taehyun feels like his eyelids are heavy, the more he leans on walls, the more his ears feel like they're stuffed with cotton. But this may be his big break. He needs this set without Mayumi to be perfect.

He needs to go back to NeoNara to prove to himself that he can make it without Mayumi...with Soobin.

They find their seats, Soobin packs the luggage above their heads, and then they sit next to each other. Soobin lets Taehyun have the window seat, and then he plugs his headphones into his new phone. Taehyun then plugs his headphones into Soobin's right earpiece, able to hear everything he does. Soobin queues up a playlist of K-Pop music that he has brought straight from Korea, mostly two groups named Super Junior and Girls' Generation. He has made this playlist so Taehyun can focus on something -- anything -- other than what's coming.

The trip to Albany is uneventful. Taehyun looks out the window the entire time, watching the Hudson River go by. Soobin falls asleep, but he is always there, a new constant in Taehyun's life that he's so thankful for. It's been literally almost a year since Taehyun has moved to New York City, and while he hasn't made it big or anything like that, he's been making it through trauma recovery, so that counts for something. He considers himself lucky that NeoNara will let him play a third year in a row -- aren't people tired of him at this point? -- but not only did they give him a timeslot, they bumped him up a stage, which means even more people can see him now.

His therapist has told him time and time again that results and statistics do not matter in the long run. And yet, Taehyun hopes that a lot of people come to his show, even more than last year. It'll be the perfect way to slam the door on Mayumi forever! King Solomon, reigning supreme over NeoNara!

When they arrive at Albany, Roger and Melinda are waiting for the two. Both have passes, but they understand that Taehyun is staying with his friends and boyfriend, and he needs his space. "Nice hair," Melinda says, and then, "Who did that?"

"Yeonjun -- Daniel did," Taehyun says, running a hand through his platinum blonde locks. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"It's just...so different."

Soobin shrugs -- he is back to the same blue he wore the first year, in support of Taehyun. "I like it."

"Well, if Tae Hyun likes it, that's what matters, right?" and they all agree.